There was a collective sigh of relief in the western suburbs on Tuesday.

I had the honour of being the first one to tweet the news, doing so just seconds after the Eagles sent their 100,000 members a message on the West Coast app. It simply said “He’s staying” above a squiggly autograph which had become one of the most sought-after signatures in AFL history.

It was posted on a blue-and-gold jumper and of course — being the good journo that I am — I knew instantly what had happened and tweeted the good news to my 15,000 followers.

To be honest, I had heard two days earlier that at the club’s Silly Sunday, the G-man (great man) had been toasted a few hundred times during the afternoon.

And then there was talk at the Perth Football Club on Monday of a massive roar emerging from the bowels

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